tmp, bak files - safe to delete?

[pumex]

Is it safe to delete tmp files? What about tmp folders? I've installed
recently Nero and got a lot of temp files and even folders taking up a
lot of space. Can I delete them safely? Also, I see a couple of big BAK
files there after installing and using Nero, for example -
NTUSER.DAT_BAK_28683 - 4.3MB... Can I delete it?

Thanks,

Pumex

 

[Jim Murphy]

This is something I would also like to know. I've read that I should be
able to safely delete any temporary file such as those found in
"C:Windows\temp" and other temp folders.

But when I tried a wholesale delete of the contents of C:Windows\temp, I
got popups saying that some of the files were in use and could not be
deleted. So I let Windows delete what it wanted to through the disc
cleanup utility.

Will someone please explain??

~Jim Murphy

 

[Ken Blake]

In

This is something I would also like to know. I've read that I
should
be able to safely delete any temporary file such as those found
in
"C:Windows\temp" and other temp folders.

But when I tried a wholesale delete of the contents of
C:Windows\temp, I got popups saying that some of the files were
in
use and could not be deleted. So I let Windows delete what it
wanted
to through the disc cleanup utility.

Will someone please explain??

It's exactly as it says. Some of the files are in use and
Windows won't let you delete a file in use. If you were to delete
a file in use, the application using it would probably crash.
Worst case, the whole system could crash.

You can safely delete any temp file you are able to delete. The
ones not safe to delete, Windows protects and won't allow you to
delete.

There's really no problem here that needs addressing. It's a
normal situation that, at any time, *some* temp files are in use
and can't be deleted. The next time you boot, those files will be
deletable.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You cannot delete a temp file currently in use by the parent program, so
obviously any process using a temp file at a given moment will lock the
file. It is safer to let Disk Cleanup determine the best candidates for
deletion and just let it do its thing.

If you are running short of disk space then just deleting temp files will
not get you where you need to be. You will need a more robust solution to
recover significant space or add more storage.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Sorry, Ken, your reply was not up when I replied. Didn't mean to step on
you.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Sorry, Ken, your reply was not up when I replied. Didn't mean
to
step on you.

Not a problem, Colin. There's nothing wrong with a second person
saying the same thing. It lends credibility to the answer.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

This is something I would also like to know. I've read that I should
be able to safely delete any temporary file such as those found in
"C:Windows\temp" and other temp folders.

But when I tried a wholesale delete of the contents of
C:Windows\temp, I got popups saying that some of the files were in
use and could not be deleted. So I let Windows delete what it wanted
to through the disc cleanup utility.

Will someone please explain??

~Jim Murphy

I only delete them after a fresh boot so that nothing else is running and
using them.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
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